Cunninghame North SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson has hit out at Labour after they comprehensively rejected any compensation for Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI).
Successive Labour, Coalition and Tory governments raised the state pension age for women without giving them due notice.
As a result, 26,430 women in Ayrshire, 335,910 women in Scotland and up to four million across the UK, who were born in the 1950s found themselves having to work years longer than anticipated.
Despite the UK Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman finding that the Department of Work and Pensions handling of this issue amounting to maladministration and that women impacted should be recompensed for this injustice, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall MP ruled out compensation of any form in a statement to the House of Commons earlier today.
She argued that ‘most women’ were aware of the changes and that informing them early would not have significantly impacted awareness.
Kenneth Gibson MSP commented:
“This news will be hard for WASPI campaigners and thousands of women across Ayrshire and Scotland to stomach.
“Labour is not just ruling out compensation in any form - they are attacking the entire premise of the WASPI campaign by arguing that giving these women proper notice of the changes would not have made a difference. This is nothing less than gaslighting.
“In April, I was proud to meet with women from the Ayrshire WASPI Group and from across Scotland who were protesting about this issue outside the Scottish Parliament.
“Labour Deputy Leader Jackie Baillie MSP came out to get her photo taken but disappeared before women had the chance to ask her any tough questions. Now we know why.
“In opposition, Labour politicians heaped promise after promise to help deliver justice to the millions of affected women across the UK. Yet again after barely half a year in office, we see how little their promises are worth.
“The only fair outcome is for the affected women to be properly compensated. The Scotland Act prohibits the involvement of the Scottish Parliament.
"While Labour and the Tories shy away, the SNP will continue to fight and campaign for pension justice for WASPI women.”
ENDS
Comments